Apple farmers call for Govt assistance

By HEZRON KISING
APPLE farmers in Morobe want the Government and other stakeholders in agriculture to look seriously into apple farming to support them with technical advice, knowledge and skills to improve and promote the fruit.
Menyamya Apple Farmers Association (Mafa) chairman and spokesperson Gimeh Garth said farmers in the district planted the fruit trees since 1986 when two locals, Hagai Koko and Enoch Ulak, introduced it in Kokaikwa village.
Since then, they expanded to other local level governments, wards and villages in the district, with more than 200 farmers owning thousands of trees.
Garth, a teacher, owns about 3,500 mature trees with more in nurseries.
He said the farmers were serious about apples being a cash crop.
But he said they lacked technical advice, knowledge, skills and tools to look after the trees.
“These apples are locally-grown and are pure organic, which has big potential to hit our local markets in towns and cities,” he said.
“But we need government support to assist us with expert knowledge in terms of technical advice, skills and instructions to equip ourselves to look after the apples.”
“A mature tree bares 60 to 100 apples in a season.”
“Currently, pest and fungal infections have attacked many of our apples, and we don’t know how to address the problem.
“We have consulted the National Agriculture Research Institute but they do not have the knowledge and experts for apple to assist.” Garth said what the farmers really needed were trained and educated locals on how to grow, provide nurseries, prune, and deal with the apple and pest and diseases that attack the plant.
Kome LLG president Paul Maica said government intervention to assist the farmers could move the industry forward.